James's Story
by De'esse Gothique
Summary: fantasy fic, completely original. not based on anything, but i love it. the first names belong to friends of mine, they know who they are. this was written for them, they have read it.


James's Story

Once upon a time, in a place far from here, a boy was born. But his birth was not a normal one.

Born of a human mother and a fairy magus father, our hero was born with wings. His mother, afraid for him, determined to keep them hidden. She searched and searched for a name that wouldn't draw undue attention to him. She almost named him John, but felt that it would draw attention to him simply because the name had been associated with people who wished to conceal their true name. So she settled for James Michael Flywing. She desperately wanted to change his last name, but she felt that her son should have something of his father, Magus Galatyn Flywing.

As James grew up, his mother ingrained the need to hide his wings and avoid undue attention into our young hero so well that when he was among the other kids, he just faded into the background. He kept to himself, hiding in corners, staying in the shadows, and in general, becoming invisible and forgotten by the other children. Little did he know, this was one of the magical abilities inherited from his father. As a teenager, he would recognize this as the gift it is, and develop it until he could blur his image to the point of true invisibility. As a man who wore mostly black, he was mysterious and intriguing. However, as a young boy, he was known as "the creepy weird kid". He wandered through his elementary and high school years with his head down, backpack full and heavy on his back, his arms laden with thick textbooks, alone and friendless. When he graduated he did so with honors, though he had no friends to clap for him. In his time away from school, he wandered the deep, dark, mysterious forest where he lived, using his magic to befriend the wild and sometimes magical creatures who lived there. In this forest, he was free to be himself. He experimented with his many and varied magical abilities. He also practiced his flying as his mother sat underneath an oak tree, reading or talking with the dryad who lived in the tree. As a Wiccan, she could both see and hear the dryad, but as a woman who had born a child, she could not touch or hug her friend the dryad. Meanwhile, James practiced his flying. He practiced it until he could chase sparrows through the trees, and play wing tag with the hawks. As he got older, his mother allowed him more freedom and privacy. She no longer followed him out to the forest every time he left the house. She still visited the dryad, but always on her own time.

It was during one of these visits that James's mother Marianna learned some disturbing news. When Marianna got to the tree, the dryad raced down and came to a sudden halt an arm's length from Marianna.

"Marianna, Marianna!" the dryad panted. "You have to tell James not to use any of his abilities here anymore. Including flying."

Knowing the dryad would not say something like that without a good reason, Marianna asked why.

"There's a family that just moved into the forest not even a mile from where you and James live. And they have a daughter about James's age that likes to go walking in the woods. She moved in only two days ago, and she's passed my tree four times already!"

Marianna went immediately home and told James. He informed her that he was going for a walk in the forest.

"Promise me yoiu won't do anything abnormal," Marianna begged her son.

"I won't, Mother. I promise." But in saying this, James lied to his mother for the very first time. For the first thing James did once he got into the forest was to use magic to summon his favorite wolf, which he'd named Black Magic Celt, but whom he called Celt. He loved to fly with Celt running on the ground below, black fur ruffling in the wind. Such is what he did now, carefully avoiding the dryad's oak tree so that he would not get caught doing something he shouldn't. As he was flying, enjoying his freedom, he also had a purpose. He wanted to fly around to see where his new neighbor's house was. He also wanted to see what type of girl would be happy living so far removed from the small social life offered by the city. As he flew, he blurred his image so as not to be seen from the ground. When he spotted the house, he motioned to Celt to go into stealth mode. He then blurred the quietly slinking Celt so that he wouldn't stand out against the sun-dappled green of the forest. James swooped down low around the house, peering in the upstairs windows as he passed each one. He saw nothing of much interest, until he came to the last window on the west side of the house. He peered into it, the paused, hovering before it. For inside, he saw what appeared to be a miniature dragon guarding an eerily flickering egg in the burning fireplace. As he hovered there, a young woman walked into the room. She had waist-length blond hair streaked naturally and liberally with brown. Her bangs were cut to fall on one side, just below her cheekbone. She walked over to the fireplace and faced the fire burning there. It looked to James as if she were warming her hands in front of the fire. He peered closer, trying to see what she was doing. But he was soon distracted.

Our winged friend noticed the fact that the most beautiful young woman he'd ever seen in his life not only had wings as well, but was apparently completely open and undeceitful about that fact, having holes apparently sewn into her shirt to accomodate them. He started to peer even closer, amazed at the notion that someone else on Earth had wings and didn't bother keeping them hidden. He was so distracted by the young woman, he never saw the miniature dragon sneaking and slithering across the floor to just beneath the window. In fact, so absorbed was he by the young winged woman, he forgot all about her pet.

Until it popped up inches in front of his nose on the other side of the window, shrieking at the top of its little lungs, and beating its wings against the glass.

James was so startled that, as he flew straight back about five feet with a single beat of his wings, he forgot to blur his image and Celt's. Celt, long used to this being the signal meaning "CHARGE!", charged forward into the clearing with hackles raised, barking and growling and adding to the commotion in general. This had been going on for about five minutes before the young woman could stop laughing long enough to restrain her pet and open the window. After she opened the window, she held her still shrieking pet and murmuring softly to it in a language that was both familiar and foreign to James at the same time. He flew in through the window and landed in front of her as she soothed her pet. When she finally got it calmed down, she turned to James.

"Llyr basheonce," she said. "Mes sha ka Faline."

A part of him he didn't recognize acknowledged that she spoke in a language not of this world. Yet that same part of him understood it, and knew she said "I'm sorry for all this. My name is Faline." But that part of him did not know how to respond in the same language.

"I'm sorr. I understood what you said somehow, but I don't know that language. Do you speak English?" he asked her.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you didn't know the Tongue. You're one of us." she motioned to his wings.

Upon realizing his wings were still in full view of a complete stranger, he promptly blushed and folded them self-consciously behind his back.

"No, no! Don't hide them like you're ashamed of them! They're nothing to be ashamed of. See? I'm not ashamed of mine." She unfolded one of her wings and fluttered it a bit.

"Oh, I'm not ashamed of my wings," James said. "It's just that I'm not used to anyone except my mother and-" Celt chose just that moment to emit a soft growl from behind the door. Startled, James glanced over at the door, then finished with a slightly different version of what he was going to say.

"I'm not used to anyone except my mother seeing my wings."

"Why in Merlin's name would you hide something like that? You're a faery. Faeries rule Faeshonjang." she replied.

"Faline, where would you say we are?" James asked her.

"Why, just outside of the city of Faeshonga, the capital city of Faeshonjang, of course! Why do you ask?" Faline sent James a confused smile.

"Well, because we're not on or in Faeshonjang, whatever that is. No offense, but we're on Earth now. Just outside the town of Elmsbury." James told her.

Faline went pale and looked as if she might faint. She sank slowly to her knees, and her arms snaked around the mini-dragon at her feet and pulled it into a tight hug.

"Oh, Merlin, no...I don't believe it. It can't be true. It just can't!" she whispered.

He followed her to her knees and tentatively placed his arm around Faline. He pulled her and her dragon into an awkward hug, and she clung to him almost desperately. He did not know where she came from, or how she came to be there, or why she was so devastated to find out she wasn't in Faeland, or whatever it was called. But he did know, in that moment, that he loved this young woman and would do anything for her. As he held her and soothed her, he asked her why it couldn't be true.

Faline proceeded to explain how, on her planet, there were two lands. One, called Faeshonjang, was everything that was beautiful and pure and good. The other, called Minfaepaux, was everything that was evil, ugly, and filthy. She explained how they were once one land, and how greed had conquered a faction in the population of the land. They felt the land was too crowded, and so they explored the other continent. Greed continued to consume them, and they resorted to black fae magic to gain more money, more land, just more in general. They were never satisfied. They eventually grew to hate the faeries in Faeshonjang because material wealth never mattered to them. It didn't matter how much or how little money, possessions, power, magic, or land they had; they were happy because they loved each other as family.

"We didn't even hate the faeries from Minfaepaux. We only took harsh measures against faeries who were serving Minfaepaux because we were forced to, to keep our beautiful, pure, good country the way it was. If we didn't, they'd just take us over from the inside, and make us just like them." Faline explained.

She went on to say that if a faery was believed to be serving Minfaepaux, they were investigated, brought before a council, and tried. Those brought before the council to be tried were almost never found innocent, since no one in Faeshonjang wanted to be suspicious of their neighbor.

"We tended to see only what we wanted to see, so it almost took definite proof of guilt to even make us suspect a neighbor enough to bring them before the Council," Faline told James.

"What was the punishment for those found guilty?" James asked her.

"Banishment from the entire world of the Fae," whispered Faline in a tear-choked voice.

James looked confused for a moment. "I don't see what's so harsh about that. Granted, you wouldn't be with your own kind, but you could start a new life." he said.

"James, you don't understand." sobbed Faline. "Those who are banished invariably die six months to the day after their first day of banishment. Faeries cannot live away from their world!"

"Then...why would...your family _choose_ to move off world?" James asked.

"We didn't. We were banished!" Faline cried.

"What? Why?" James asked, trying desperately to comfort her.

Faline merely hugged her dragon tighter and cried harder.

"Faline's pet firedrake is indirectly the reason we were banished. More directly, the reason we were banished is pride. We refused to force Faline to give Dracul up, and she chose to keep him." Faline's father interjected from the now-open doorway. Her mother stood next to him, beaming approvingly down at James.

"Is it illegal to own a...firedrake...in Faeshonjang or something?" James asked.

"Not illegal, honey," Faline's mother corrected gently. "Merely highly irregular and suspect for a loyal Faeshonian. Firedrakes originated in Minfaepaux, and are a status symbol there. Minfaepauxians only give firedrakes to people who can't pay for them when those people agree to do undercover work for them."

"So when it was revealed that Faline had a pet firedrake, our family was brought before the Punishment of Traitorous Indiscretions and Misdeeds Council," said Faline's father. "We were on trial. We tried to prove our innocence, but they didn't believe us. I...didn't want Faline to see what came next...so I...forgive me, daughter, but I had you sent out of the trial." He turned an apologetic look toward his daughter.

"It's okay, Father," Faline said. "I know we're innocent, and will be until the day we die. I found Dracul's egg on the beach that day, and took it home with me to hatch her out. I also found the egg in the fireplace the day before the trial. I refused to give them up then, and I'll refuse now."

"But there must be a way to overturn it!" James exclaimed. "You're innocent! There has to be some way to prove it!"

"There's none," Faline's father replied. "Others have tried in the past, and failed."

"What do you mean, 'others have tried in the past'? Is there a way?" James asked.

"None that is successful, dear," answered Faline's mother. "Only those with blood of the Fae/can enter into our gates each day/If their hearts are without greed's taint/Only if their courage is in no way faint/Only if their selflessness doth behoove/another's innocence they must prove/Only then will banishment be waived/Only then will a banished one's life be saved."

"If you're banished...and you return..." James thought aloud.

"Then you die for violating your punishment." Faline's father finished for him.

"But if I were to go..." James unfolded his wings. "I might have a chance."

"Very true, but also very dangerous," Faline's mother mentioned. "There is a reason one's courage must not be faint. In order to win a pardon for one banished, you must defeat the dragon fueling the Minfaepaux greed spell. They worship Cacham as a god, and will fight to the death to defend him."

"I'll do it!" said James. Looking tenderly down at Faline, he murmured, "Anything for you, my love."

Days later, Marianna bid a tearful goodbye to James as he set off for the Faery Gate. He did not know where it was, but firedrakes instinctively know the location. As James had the newly-hatched Linka with him, he was certain he'd get there okay. As he flew away, he took one last long, tender look back toward Faline. He would miss her, but he was going to save her life.

When he got to the gate, he saw the poem Faline's mother had recited to him. He flew toward the gate slowly. As he passed through, he was flung into stasis, arms, legs, and wings extended. He felt a burning, tingling sensation throughout his body as the magic of the gate searched him for the requisite blood of the Fae and untainted heart. Abruptly, he was ejected through to the other side, where Linka awaited him.

As they travelled, they saw many strange and wondrous things, such as the mixen cub that Linka had for dinner their first night in Faeshonjang. James offered to build a fire and cook it for her, but Linka just lauged. Then she let out a stream of fire that enveloped the fox-like creature. She devoured the creature in short order, and afterward sat back looking smug. Mmm… thought Linka. Lightly roasted, just as I like it.

There were other, more dangerous creatures along the way, such as the krackenoak. James discovered this little treat of a tree quite by accident. He had wondered down what appeared to be a nice, clear path toward what appeared to be a nice big shady oak. He had thought to eat lunch and take a small nap under the tree. However, all was not as it appeared. As they got closer to the tree, Linka recognized it for what it was and warned James away from it. She demonstrated the reason for this by picking up a branch from a nearby hollymaple and tossed it toward the oak. Before the branch even had a chance to hit the ground, the branches of the oak snaked out like tentacles and snagged it. These tentacles then proceeded to rip the branch apart viciously until nothing remained save splinters. Linka explained that the tree often emanated a sort of lethargy that captured unwary passersby, just like it captured James. This sense of lethargy tricked the unlucky wanderer into venturing within the tree's reach, where the tree would rip the person apart just like it had the branch. Then it would quickly eat the pieces, bones and all, and lie in wait for the next unwary creature or person to wander within its reach. James was properly shaken, and promised to be aware of his surroundings at all times. He memorized the shape of the leaves and promised to check the leaves of any tree he thought to sleep under from now on.

There were a few dangers Linka didn't recognize, like the quicksand pits that littered the desert they had to cross. If not for Linka's incredible strength, a few of them would have claimed James along the way. But Linka managed to pull James out every time. Eventually they learned what to look for, and learned to avoid them. But the desert held other dangers for the unwary. The first night spent there was particularly fraught with danger, since they had no tent or shelter from the weather. First a sandstorm that lasted for hours hit. Linka would have been fine, having the tough hide of her dragon cousins, but the wind threatened to blow her away! James had to wrap his arms around Linka and shelter them both inside his sleeping bag, which would have been shredded if the winds had been any more fierce. After the sandstorm, they both breathed a sigh of relief…until the night creatures began to make themselves known. At first, James enjoyed watching them scurry around on their own business, but he soon grew to dislike the desert mice that got into his pack and attempted to eat his food. But even that wasn't as bad as the sand snake that slipped into his sleeping bag while he was dealing with the mice. James could be heard to mutter that at least Linka got a good deal on dinner and a show out of that mess. But things hadn't gotten as bad as they could get. They travelled through the next night, taking a hint from the creatures that lived in that harsh clime. When he went to sleep the next morning, James wasn't expecting any creatures to come visit, thinking all of them would be asleep. He should have realized that even on Earth, there are creatures in the desert that are diurnal. Such as the deadly poisonous giant scorpion that almost stung James before Linka caught and killed it. She had a fight on her hands, ducking, diving, dipping and dodging, but as she danced back away from the stinger, she blew out a stream of fire that enveloped the scorpion.

Linka led James through the countryside, towards the city of Faeshonga. Once there, she hid in his backpack and reported the directions in a bossy, telepathic voice. She was irritated at the confinements of the backpack, but understood the necessity of staying hidden.

The Council Hall was a large cave set into the mountainside. As he entered, Linka told him the reason. As the Minfaepaux worshipped Cacham, so did the Faeshonians worship Maejing, the dragon that fueled the love spell over Faeshonjang. The Council Hall was situated in the anteroom of her cave. He appealed to the Council for a pardon of Faline's family, and was told he must defeat Cacham.

As the Council dismissed, Linka informed James that Maejing wished to see him. So he moved past the Council chamber and into the cave proper.

"Welcome, young James," boomed a pleasantly feminine voice. Startled, James's wings spread wide and fluttered a bit.

"Oh don't be frightened," the voice said, sounding amused. "I won't hurt you."

James heard a shuffling, scraping sound, then gasped at the beautiful iridescently glowing creature that moved into the light.

"I am Maejing," the creature said. "You'll need a bit of help if you're to defeat Cacham. I will provide you with that help. And do pick your jaw up off of the ground, dear boy. It's so unbecoming of you to gape like that."

Laughing dazedly, he closed his mouth. Then opened it again to say, "Why would you help me?"

"Why, because you're the son of my favorite and most devoted magus, of course! It's really impudent of him to be off gathering herbs on this most important of days, however." She snapped her wings in irritation.

"You know my father?" James asked.

"Of course I do, boy. Now pay attention. Here's Cacham's cave. There's a back entrance here." She drew a shimmering diagram in the air with one claw. She then pointed to an opening in the back.

"Go in here; it's never guarded. It's Cacham's personal bolthole. He never trusts his servants enough to let them know about it. However, it is watched over by a legion of warrior-drakes. As you found out with Dracul, that wonderful talent you have for blurring your image to become almost invisible will not work. Drakes also rely on infrared sight as well as normal. So I'm going to give you a couple of things. The first thing is a charmed amulet. It will protect you from the infrared vision of the drakes. A cloak to provide you with protection from the flames of the drakes. A faery bow and dragon arrows; with that combination, not only will you never miss, the arrows will cut through a dragon's armor. Special shoes to allow you to walk without sound or footprints. And an enchanted ring, to provide you with true invisibility." As she mentioned each item, it flashed into appearance and formed a small pile at his feet.

"In order to kill Cacham, you must shoot an arrow into his eye. Draconic blindness can only be cured by blood from a cut above the heart. When he opens the armor above his heart to make the cut, shoot an arrow into his heart. Exit the cave immediately. The fire left inside Cacham will explode the body and consume everything in the cave. I will know immediately when Cacham dies, and I will inform the Council. Go now. Save the one you love."

Upon saying that, Maejing shuffled back out of sight. James mentally reviewed the information he'd been given. Finding it adequate, he gathered his gifts and set out for Minfaepaux.

Throughout the journey to Minfaepaux, James and Linka developed an easy camaraderie. Anyone listening to their telepathic conversations would swear they hated each other, until they heard the laughter behind the caustic and often barbed comments. Linka often came out the winner in their little skirmishes, and she never missed a chance to rub it in James's face. However, James got a chance to return the favor on the sea voyage to Minfaepaux. It turned out that Linka was violently seasick the entire voyage. James never missed a chance as he was caring for her to rub it in Linka's face that he didn't get seasick. But finally the voyage was over, and they were in Minfaepaux.

Minfaepaux was a bleak, barren land. It could be described in colors as black, red, and gray. There was no greenery anywhere to be found. James took an immediate dislike to the area, as did Linka. James had guessed that Linka would've loved the land, seeing as her kind had originated there. But she hated it so much that she complained all the time. They had to pick their way carefully around the lava pits, and find the safest routes over the cooled magma. Neither James nor Linka understood how the people from Minfaepaux could possibly love this desolate land.

There were the fire jets in the lava fields to look out for. But once they knew what they were looking for, the jets were easily avoided. The fire ants, however, were not. By the time they got through the lava fields, both James and Linka were utterly exhausted. They couldn't stop to sleep on the two-day trek through the fields, because the fire ants attacked anything that stayed still long enough. Linka explained to him that the fire ants lived on ash, so they would swarm anything that stayed still long enough for them to incinerate it. They would set it on fire, and track it if it ran. Then when the poor creature finally succumbed to the flames burning it, the fire ants would feast on the ashes. Not even bones were safe from the flames of the fire ants; even they were incinerated. Nothing else lived in the lava fields, except the fire ants and the magma sharks. Even if some poor enchanted creature managed to survive the heat of the lava, the magma sharks that lived in it would swim up and devour them. There is no escape from the magma sharks, since the lava bogs down all creatures except those that live in it. But finally they made it through the lava fields.

Linka guided James through the countryside, just as she guided him through Faeshonjang. She griped and complained and whined until James finally told her to put up and shut up. At last, they reached the back entrance to Cacham's cave. They snuck past the warrior-drakes with no problem, and moved quietly throughout the tunnel to the cave proper. Just before the entrance, James paused. Slowly, quietly, he drew an arrow and nocked it. He began to inch forward, slowly, quietly, blurring his image automatically though he knew he was invisible.

When he caught sight of Cacham, he gasped. Where Maejing was iridescently white, Cacham was just as iridescently red. He was turned facing James, talking to a servant. James had a clear shot to the eye, but he waited until the servant left. It seemed like hours, but finally his patience paid off when the servant left the cave. James took careful aim, shot the arrow, and was rewarded with the dragon's bellow of rage and pain. The dragon reached up and plucked the arrow out of his eye like a splinter. Then keeping the eye closed, he raised a section of scales above his heart. He extended a claw, and just as he moved to slice a cut, James fired a single arrow into Cacham's heart. He left the cave, but halfway down the tunnel he heard a gigantic explosion and felt something slam into him. He looked himself over, and could find no injuries. But he felt...different somehow.

When he got back to Faeshonga, Faline and her family were waiting for him, smiling wide. Maejing confirmed his hope, and told him they'd been pardoned, and would be allowed to keep their drakes.

James and Faline were married on the spot. At the wedding, Maejing sprung a surprise on James. She explained that, when Cacham died, his powers of shapeshifting were released. James was the nearest living being, so they slammed into him. It will take some getting used to, he thought, but I kind of like the idea of being able to shapeshift. It has...many possibilities. He grinned mischievously at Faline, then shifted into a black dragon and knelt before her. She looked surprised, then laughed when he asked her telepathically to climb on his back. She did so, and as he flew off into the distance, she sent him a distinctly wicked thought that set his blood racing. He loved the idea of her being legally, and now literally, able to ride him into the ground.

**Epilogue**

James collapsed under the weight of all the feline bodies on top of him. There were four of them, and the oldest was eight years old. Faline held the fifth and youngest in her arms a few yards away, watching them maul James, and smiling. She knew they wouldn't hurt their father, and that in a few minutes he would raise up underneath them and gently shake them off. She'd seen this scene many times before, and never tired of watching it. The panther form was one of their favorites to play in, and this was almost a nightly ritual. James would wrestle with their children in panther form, and one by one they'd flash to panther form to wrestle more fairly. Then they'd all pounce on him; he'd collapse and pretend to be defeated until they started saying they'd won against Daddy, then he'd raise up and shake them off gently so as not to hurt them. He'd flash back to faery form, then smile and say, "Alright, you munchkins. Time to get ready for bed!" They'd begin to protest, but he'd stop all that with a simple "Nah...don't argue. I won that match, so I get a reward, right?" He'd glance over at her lovingly, then go on to say, "Well my reward is that you munchkins go to bed so I can have some time with your mother. You get her all day, so at night it's my turn." He'd grin at her, then look back at their children as one by one they flashed into the form of a common munchkin and go off to get ready for bed, grumbling half-heartedly that it wasn't fair, because Daddy always won.

"Faline? It's time to put the little one to bed now." Faline came out of her reverie to find that the nightly ritual was already over, and it was time to put little Raina to bed and say goodnight to young Galatyn, their oldest. Shinga was next at seven years old, then young Caradoc at six. Xirema was next at five, leaving young Raina, at one year old, to be the youngest. They said goodnight to their children together, then went off to get ready for bed themselves.

As they lay in bed that night, Faline snuggled next to her husband. "I've been thinking, James," she said. "We've made a good life for ourselves, haven't we? Given our children everything we can give them?"

James looked over at his beautiful wife. "Of course we have, honey. You have only to look at our children to know that. What are you thinking that has you question that?"

"Hmm, only that none of our children know their paternal grandmother, or the wisdom the dryad has to impart. Do you think Maejing would open a portal for us in this house so we could visit your mother and her friend? It would give our children so much knowledge and wisdom that they wouldn't ordinarily have. And I think that since your father has named Galatyn as the next ruler of Faeshonjang through that vision of his, he needs to know about Earth. Maybe it would improve interworld relations..."

James was grinning at his wife as she tried to talk him into visiting Maejing and persuading her to open the portal. Noticing the grin, Faline realized she was babbling, and stopped.

"What you're really saying," said James thoughtfully, "is that you'd like to visit my mother again, and go walking in the forest a few more times and scare the poor dryad out of her tree again, just like you did so many years ago when we first met. Right?" James was openly smiling at his wife now.

"Well, yes, but I did think it would be good for the kids, too." she laughed.

"I'll go tomorrow and see if she'll do it. Now then for more...pressing business..."

And James proceeded to do some most enjoyable pressing of his own, unknowingly creating the faery mage that would grow up to take her grandfather's place as Maejing's right hand, and rule the planet fairly and justly with her.


End file.
